Senate Business - 2

Senate Business -2

 

Well it had to start somewhere, and the starting point was in 1867 after a bunch of politicians an’ businessmen got together to form this private club called the Senate. It was based on the British House of Lords, except we didn’t have any Lords in them days. Still don’t. No matter. Senators are generally appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the prime minister. To qualify for the senate, one must be a Canadian citizen, at least thirty years of age, an’ have a minimum net worth of $4,000.00 in 1867 dollars. The latter qualification was to ensure avoidance of economic vagaries an’ turmoil an’ remains unchanged to this day.

Do you see where this is goin’ already? Reminds me of the Rotary club I used to belong to. There you could only have one member from any industry or business and one alternate member. And if you needed to do business with any business or industry, it had better be with one o’ the members. The reciprocity o’ that was they promised not to screw you on the bill at the other end. Yeah, right. What ya gives is what ya gets, I figure. It was sort of a business club with high falutin’ rules an’ lofty ideals an’ very little else other than a fine lunch at a swanky hotel an’ a lot o’ speechifyin’ to cover up the business bein’ done.

The senate was really no different. It was a collection of wealthy an’ influential business people an’ politicians gettin’ together at three o’clock every afternoon tryin’ to figure out what to do with theirselves an’ justify their very existence. They was afraid that if they didn’t meet every day, people wouldn’t take them seriously an’ the whole Senate would collapse. They couldn’t have that, an’ it wasn’t that there wasn’t a whole lot to discuss. But they were the “House of Sober Second Thought” to advise the rabble in the House of Commons on political matters after all. They didn’t make the legislation, but they had the power to veto it upon “sober second thought”. That was a vital part of keeping the politicians in the house of commons in check an’ keep them from passing legislation that might hurt the elite society.

Right from the outset you can see the basis upon which this pillar of Canadian society was bein, built. More than that, it became the status quo of Tory philosophy, and not so subtly neither. Of course it was also the Whigs design too, but a little more refined. They were just a bit sneakier about it.

Well that basically sets up the order of Canadian society, right from the inception of our country as a nation. The government rules the country and the wealthy and business elite rule the government. That’s the status quo we just have to put up with. It’s been that way from time immemorial and continues right to this day. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.